‘Pokémon Go’ sex offender ban is nonsense
By STEVEN YODER . . .
Last last month, two state senators in New York—Jeffrey Klein and Diane Savino—issued a report laying out an apparently scary set of numbers. In New York City, Pokémon from Pokémon Go were spotted in front of the homes of 57 people on the state sex registry. Fifty-nine Poké gyms or Pokéstops and 73 other Pokémon items were within a half-block of a registrant’s residence.
To be clear, there have been no reports of Pokémon-related sex crimes. The senators’ document does cite the case of a man on Indiana’s sex registry who was found playing Pokémon Go near where a 16-year-old boy also was playing. In another case in Arizona, the game developers put a Pokéstop at a historic hotel that has since been turned into a halfway house for 43 men on the state registry.
That was convincing enough for New York governor Andrew Cuomo to issue an order banning sex offenders on parole from playing Pokémon Go this week. On Wednesday, Klein, Savino, and additional senators introduced state bills that, among other things, would ban game developers from putting “in-game objectives” within a hundred feet of the home of a registrant.
Why target those with a sex crime on their record? A spokesperson for Klein’s office told VICE this is because of the “very high” recidivism rates of sex offenders compared with other criminals, citing data from a report that Klein co-authored last year. That document notes a re-arrest rate of 48 percent within eight years for those on New York’s sex registry, based on 2007 state data.
But that re-arrest rate includes charges for any crime—not just sex offenses, the target of the legislation. And it confirms a fact that recidivism researchers have long known: When sex offenders do commit another crime, it’s far more likely to be a non-sexual one. (Continue reading at Vice.com)
Senators, get a clue. These laws have as much intelligence and logic as a Flat Earth Society meeting…
Q) “Why target those with a sex crime on their record?”
A) Because it requires no thought and appeals the lowest common denominator (fear and ignorance) and makes for a damn good press conference!
Let’s have a dose of reality here. Politicians really don’t give a flying you- know-what about recidivism rates and the safety of children. All they care about are and votes and $$$.
This makes for good election year hysteria to create in order to get easy votes from the people ignorant enough to let the television teach them who to hate, what to think, and how to feel.
may GOD find His way to settle this mess on how sex offenders are treated. People don’t realize that children, teens, young adult, adults and the old are all at risk for being labeled a sex offender. Thus, all the heavy laws put in place on offenders will be given to all age groups and affect a multitude of families. Many won’t realize the damage done until it the strict judgment rains on there on families and by then it’s to late. I’m a registered offender who made a dumb decsicion at a house party when I was 20 and had to go to prison 3 years, given ten years parole and have 7 left. My son suffers from it cuz I can’t take him to do kid stuff. He asked why we can’t go to Parks or the zoo. This breaks my heart and sadly it’s has to be this way until he is fourteen or fifteen years old when I’m off parole My family is impacted too by this cuz I can’t be around female minors under 18 and this includes my own family members. I’m frustrated that I’m not the only one facing these hard times but many people out there are too. Fathers torn from there homes, and families destroyed because of this registry stuff. I believe the system can be used for good, but at this time there is so many flaws that many are suffering not just me. I pray often that someone will find a way to make these laws better and parole system too. I thank all those who show mercy and understanding rather then strict judgment and hate. God bless I send my best.
I pray that the law changes. My daughter will be in the same situation as yourself. It is ridiculous that you are not able to do normal activities with your son as other fathers. Our lawmakers just don’t get it. I pray for you and everyone else that is feeling this pain. God bless you.
I agree that these pokemon or others rules geared towards the offenders are just too judgemental and creating panic and fear. We must make noise on the steps of the Capitol as all other groups seeking equality. I CONTINUE TO SAY THE REGISTRY SHOULD BE FOR ALL CRIMINAL MINDS OR NONE. A few months ago an autistic child wondered off from a family gathering and tragically drowned. There was offers to search for him. But rumors spread that the police did not really want volunteers because of the fear of predators wanting to join. Personally if my child or grandchild wandered off I would welcome anyone to truly help. Anyway the foul and prejudiced comments were being posted in the media that perhaps it was a “sex offender” who took this child, when indeed, it was the negligence of the parents and they were not charged. We need to make a stand and also PLEAD AND QUOTE THE CONSTITUTION that the punishment is too harsh even after you have paid the price in prison and personal persecution!
My son, who still maintains he did not have consensual sex with a girl under 18 for which he was convicted, served his jail term and is off probation. He is still considered a tier 3 sex offender and cannot attend his children’s school activities and sports events because the school superintendent has threatened to have him arrested for trespassing if he is on school grounds. he cannot drive them to school or pick them up. He has to have them walk through a farm field to get to and from his car. He misses seeing one daughter who is a star goalkeeper for soccer, another who has starring parts in school musicals, and his son who runs track and cross country. He misses their school chorus recitals. I tried talking to the superintendent, saying that he would attend the events with me as chaperone, but he refuses to allow him on school grounds. It’s time to stop these witch hunts.
Brent, Cindy, d, and all my old friends on these comment chats about the sex registry and the offender. While I’m a sex offender myself I don’t even worry about it. It seems that each time I try to comment someone knocks me down on here.
Its a shame that people won’t listen to people and have their own mindsets on here that is why I don’t comment. Sometimes one has to say ” If a man thinkest”.
I know we are all oppressed by this as are those 850.000 people on the registry so is anything really concrete being done? If anyone has an ear let them hear but as far as RSOL goes it seems they want to Resolve this thing but that’s like the blind leading the blind and I’m sure this post will not be posted as RSOL wants to be the leader of the pack as do the other advocates that are fighting for this cause.
Do not be discourage there is hope if we all inform the People and the media of all this. I can’t say RSOL is going at this the right way or the wrong way and a lot of these comments depress me but don’t be discourage
i am not sure you are aware of everything RSOL is doing on behalf of all registrants. It is much more than a website. Why don’t you tell us what you think RSOL should be doing instead?
Well James I have to agree, but in retrospect who is doing all that can be done? What is the right step? I can tell you one thing friends. No real change is going to happen from litigation alone. Not in this situation. Like in all major movements in this county’s history it will take peaceful discussions, active protest, and unlawful defiance. People will need to make sacrifices,go to prison, face violent reactions from the opposition ,and devote their lives to issue. NOT just post on Twitter and online chat rooms. That’s what’s wrong with people now days. They don’t want to face reality. They don’t want to put in the footwork to create change. They’d rather talk from the safety from their homes then risk losing their security. The civil rights movement didn’t happen over night,some would argue they’re still going on today. Do you think anything would have happened though if protesters hadn’t marched on Selma or Malcolm decided it wasn’t worth the risk of going to prison. I don’t. This country was founded on war fought on two fronts political and literal. Sadly sometimes confrontation and violence are both forgone conclusions and necessary for change. In this situation it’s almost as if the authorities are trying to push SOs into a corner to get a violent reaction out of them so they can justify themselves. Which is why this movement is so important as a means of prevention of such an occurance. Also if violence is necessary is important to ensure it’s not caused by an SO. It’s far easier to make the case of an SO being a victim when they’re the target of a violent attack then the other way around. So it’s not just a question about who leads,but who is willing to be a marder for the cause?
I really appreciate the goal of this site, but when an entire society and its judiciary are working hand in hand to deny people, any people their inalienable rights of speech, expression, etc, all one can do is wait it out and hope the same thing happens to them. Its ironic, a criminal is defined as a person who denies a person their right to life, liberty, and property through force, just as a SORA does, and by the very people who really do have a legal duty to do so only as a punishment, just as the 13th amendment of the us const. states.
These people did the same thing to communists in the 50s by requiring them to register, but it was ruled unconstitutional. Then they did it to members of the NAACP and it was also ruled illegal. They did this because they were scared monkeys who deemed those people and groups as threats. These rulings have never been overturned and yet here we are decades later dealing with the same kind of fanatics in power as usual.
Granted, if they want to waste there time and money by creating a sex offender information site, they can have it. But they have no legal right of any kind to force u.s. citizens to give them that information. U.s. citizens are not products or property of any state or of the united states and don’t have to do anything for the u.s. government unless we get something in return.
The only thing a person convicted of a sex crime gets through a SORA is to be able to remain somewhat free. This is defined as slavery or indentured servitude and you guessed it, it can only be imposed as a punishment.
Now it must be asked of you, if you have to tell someone about all of the uses of your 1st Amendment rights or go to prison, are you a slave? Well of course you are, since you have no lawful right to use them without telling someone.
Naturally, no one seems to care, and currently this nation is being subverted by radical groups and a judiciary that only wants its image to look good, rather than follow the laws. OK, if that’s the case then you have nothing to complain about, because just remember this well established law, what comes around, goes around.
You make some very good points there. Do you happen to know how long it was before the Communist and NAACP registries were ruled unconstitutional?
While I have to be contrary to all this poke’mon crap I do have to say its time for all on here to stand up. Now you’ve all heard the old saying: For every dark cloud theirs a rainbow. You just have to look for the rainbow.
Were talking about sin in all this area of sex offense. Now weather these ministers of Justice set you up or not with some fake teenager, or gave you an opportunity use some biblical knowledge instead of worldly wisdom.
Oh yes there have been times I’ve kicked myself in the butt and got down on myself and felt like an outcast but the shame of it all is the shame of what those ministers did.
Now remember somebody always knocks my comments down so my comments are probably a hill of beans and nobody likes being a beanbag the rest of their life do they.
So when you understand the right rainbow to seek it makes things much clearer and one also has to give thinks to those advocates that stand up for this. So we all need directions not detours. Well isn’t this sex registry a detour to some.
Hey James, glad to see you’re back on here. I never intended to “knock you down”. My only beef was when i felt you were pushing your religious beliefs on me, that’s all.
You and i were both set up in stings and i know how it feels….there’s been some rainbows in all of this. It’s been a chance to do some deep soul searching. What the older generations would call “building character”, i guess.
I would never, ever want you to feel like an outcast. One of the reasons i visit this site is to feel part of something. Not many people understand how it feels to be in our position.
The land of the free and the home of the brave, nope sorry, its the land of the slave and the home of the terrified.
Valuable lessons to be learned by so’s. You have no lawful right to live here, associate, own property, or to speak freely. You are not citizens any longer. You are lucky to be living as far as loving, caring, American citizens are concerned. Just give this crusade up, its over. Keep to yourselves, don’t help those people, don’t care about them, make yourself happy, lol.
Its strangely ironic, even Nazis were free to start their lives over after, raping, robbing, and killing tens of millions of people without any regulation of any kind, and it was this nation that helped them the most, and let them live here. I guess its true birds of a feather do flock together.
D I forgive you on here and Fred I have to say RSOL is doing everything they can but they need input also. They can’t run to each person’s house and interview them so now lets all get down to business. Remember the sex registry is not a game.
I’ve had my battle scars from back in the 70’s and I’m sure you all know what a weekend warrior is. Yes I settled down in the mid 90’s and in the new decade than along comes the sex registry and these sting operations.
Sure I watched Chris Hanson’s To catch a predator and all those things. Listened to Adam Walsh and his American’s Most Wanted even along the way of life I picked up a bit more of a Christian background and a Christian background never hurts.
Lonely I got on the internet one night started talking to adult girls but one night in the chat room there was this person that said nobody would talk to her and I asked her why and she said she was a 16 year old girl. She said the other guys on their wouldn’t talk to her so I talked to her.
I was curious all the same just like everybody else on here. Any to make a long story short. The first night I cut it off and went to bed. The next night not thinking about all this she was on the site and she clicked onto me and I wondered why as I didn’t really want to talk the second night to her.
To make a long story short I said would you like to meet me. She said nothing and I said tell you what I will come down their since we were meeting in the park, she had wanted to meet me at her home. I told her on one condition , NO SEX.
You see that girl was pushing me into something and I wanting to find out what it was. Sure I was curious and sure I spoke to soon on the phone and even asked to back out as my conscious was killing me. She did call me back after I hesitated to come down and said are you still coming and I said I wanted to back out and she said why we are meeting in the park what could happen. The only got me for intent and talking for a supposed teenage gal.
Now if I would of ask for sex it would have been a who different situation but the main point is they wanted one to make a choice. Give you an opportunity.
“Beguile one” and that was not right
No Minister should do something like this. Did you ever watch the Clint Eastwood movie the Beguiled or the movie Jungle Fever and yes the topic is there but the meaning is what some miss.
I think Brent said May God find a way. No Brent God’s already found a way. Its up to “We the people to make a noise” and RSOL is there also.
Oh and while your looking up some of this See how Jessie James went down in flames… So don’t look at all this as you being a dunce. Look at it as a learning experience.. And yes Police are still ministers of God d.
Everyone here and every other sex offender article that allows you to post a comment are always saying let’s get together and do something. And nothing happens. My 22 year old son just spent 9 months in jail 4 years probation and has to register for life. The public defender made us spend 10.000 dollars in a physiatric assessment, it did absolutely nothing to help. Let’s do something… Let’s get together… But NOONE has the guts!!!
I’m planning on creating a tshirt that says ” I’m the mother of a sex offender and he is STILL a human being… Treat him like one”
Anyone with a better logo please help me out.
Wish i knew the magic words that could change people’s minds. “Oh, i see it happened to you!” is always the most effective.
I HATE the term “sex offender” and try not to use it. There is so much shame involved with carrying the label. Most people, until it happens to them or someone they care about, have no idea what a crazy rabbit hole you go down when one ends up being charged/convicted of a sex crime.
Currently i’m still in court ordered “treatment.” I’ve approached several of the guys about joining RSOL. No one is interested. They are just too beaten down, ashamed and afraid of standing up for themselves. There’s around 850,000 people on the registry and the list keeps growing. Lot’s of potential there. I do what i can- donate to RSOL, spend time every day reading articles and commenting, talking to people i meet and explaining my story, talking about the laws. There are some really startling statistics regarding sex crimes- one that really blows my mind is that the average age of a person CONVICTED of a sex crime is 14. That, right there, is a contraction of the supposed goal of the registry- to protect the vulnerable. Shame on everybody for allowing this to happen.
Even my own family, although somewhat supportive, just doesn’t want to get involved. It’s disappointing. Ignoring the situation will not make it go away. Everyday another lawmaker uses sex crimes for political grandstanding. When the laws/restrictions change they are applied retroactively. That should scare the crap out of anyone with a sex crime conviction!
We are in the middle of a sex crime hysteria. I think a tee shirt is a great idea. ANYTHING that has the possibility of changing the conversation about sex offenders from “they are bad people” to “they are people too, just like me” is a step in the right direction. The trick is, i think, in those types of discussions to keep your cool. It’s hard- on both sides of the issue- to not let emotion run wild.
Anybody who studies sex crimes knows the current laws do not work and may even contribute to abuses. The trick is to somehow tamp down people’s emotions so we can all do the right thing.
Your son is very lucky to have you for a mother.
PS) Me, being caught in a “bait and switch” sting would like to see a shirt that says “John Walsh is a Sex Offender”. Because he is. But that’s a rant for another day…
Not better, but:
“Reduce Crime In Your Neighborhood: Live Near a Registered Sex Offender!”
then on the back, put the results of the Washington, DC study showing the significantly lower crime near SOs.